Actress Shruti Haasan, who is also a talented singer and has crooned hit numbers such as Alvida and Stereophonic sannata, plans to release her international album soon. In a casual ‘ask-me-anything’ with her fans on Twitter on Wednesday, Shruti spilled some beans about her international album.

While patiently replying to questions from her fans, she was asked by Tamil actor Vishal Krishna Reddy about the album. “Soon soon soon. I promise! And one I’ve made to you too many times (sic),” Shruti replied. Answering a question about her favourite role, she said she’d love to play a rockstar, and added that she likes essaying roles with grey shades as well.

When asked about working with superstar Mahesh Babu in the recently released Telugu drama Srimanthudu, she said he was sweet and down-to-earth, professionally very driven and focused. She also said that the experience of working in the film made her socially aware. Shruti revealed that she’s hopeful of working with her sister Akshara Haasan soon. If not an actress, Shruti said she would’ve been an aeronautical engineer.

]]>http://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/after-priyanka-chopra-now-shruti-haasan-to-come-up-with-an-international-album/feed/0Akshara Haasan approached for Sandakozhi 2http://www.bollywoodlife.com/south-gossip/akshara-haasan-approached-for-sandakozhi-2/
http://www.bollywoodlife.com/south-gossip/akshara-haasan-approached-for-sandakozhi-2/#respondSat, 23 May 2015 11:32:57 +0000http://www.bollywoodlife.com/?p=512848Actress Akshara Haasan, who was recently seen in R. Balakrishnan aka Balki-directed Shamitabh, has been approached to play the leading role in a Tamil film

“Talks have been initiated with Akshara, but there hasn’t been any confirmation yet. The makers will wait for another couple of weeks to decide whether she will be part of the project or not,” claimed a source. The actress has been approached for an action film, Sandakozhi 2.

To be helmed by Linguswamy, who had also directed the prequel, Sandakozhi 2 will feature Vishal Krishna Reddy in the titular role.

In the past, Akshara was approached by filmmaker Mani Ratnam for his last Tamil directorial Kadal, but she turned down the offer. Post Shamitabh, Akshara, who is the daughter of actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika, hasn’t signed any project yet.

Aambala, which directly translates to masculine, is like film made by Singam fame Hari Gopalakrishnan, who is known for making films with flying objects, say cars and throws in some humans too occasionally.

Maybe Hari was hired to direct the action portion because Vishal as the producer may have felt that nobody else can do justice to his action avatar. So when Vishal makes a grand entry in a scene seated on the bonnet of a car about 30 feet above the ground, you know he’s quite right about Hari because he’s Tamil cinema’s Rohit Shetty when it comes to action, while Sundar is known for churning out some great comedy, the kind audiences in B and C centres will guiltlessly lap up.

Vishal’s (who plays Saravanan) political leanings are very evident in Aambala, at least in the initial few minutes where he impresses a local politician and is subsequently asked if he’d like to enter politics. Saravanan replies, “Why would we take your place, if you do your job well?” Not that it’s so important, but this line reminds us of a recent incident between Vishal and a senior actor, who heads a film body. This is Vishal’s subtle way of letting everyone know that he’s happy being an actor. Otherwise, the film turns out to be a cliched rehash of several family stories with adequate dose of action and nauseating comedy.

A southern filmmaker’s idea of a commercial family drama is becoming very formulaic. Most of these stories are about fixing a broken family, reuniting with long separated family members and endorsing inter-familial marriage (in 21st century, really?). Here, three pairs of cousins plan on getting married. And the whole idea of the family reunion in Aambala is so dumb.

When three sisters banish their brother from their family, the latter sends his three sons, many years later, to woo the daughters of his sisters. Imagine how simple life would’ve been if all family tussles were ironed out by making its members marry each other (doesn’t matter even if you were to kidnap someone and marry)? This pattern of storytelling was started in the 1980s and it’s disappointing to see that it’s still being milked dry.

Another problem is the size of these families, which usually feature more members than a cricket team (including non-playing members). Why can’t family stories be about, say a family of two or three, like the older couple in Telugu film Mithunam? There’s no hard and fast rule that it should be about a smaller family but the same applies for stories featuring bigger families as well. In Aambala, the additional characters in the family may have been included just to give hero Vishal an opportunity to prove he’s got more relationships to fix besides his own and his brothers’.

This is the third time Hansika has collaborated with director Sundar, who by now has proved she’s got much more to showcase than her acting chops. Santhanam on the other hand, who is still capable of carrying the weight of a film singlehandedly, has started to get extremely nauseating with his funny one-liners that are mostly offensive and racist. Sundar’s choice to cast Ramya Krishnan came as a surprise but her role not so much as she plays a toned down version of Neelambari from ace Padayappa.

It’s still tough to understand why Vishal would do two back-to-back masala entertainers after experimenting with films such as Pandiya Naadu and Naan Sigappu Manithan, which performed well commercially at the ticket window. Maybe he underestimates his own talent and trades it for garbage like Aambala, which is unarguably the worst product to have come out of Sundar’s factory.

If masculinity is all about making Vishal drool at the slip of Hansika’s pallu, her back and when she slips her mobile into her blouse (while on a video call), the makers have got everything right. Otherwise, there’s nothing masculine about Aambala.

Rating: 1 out of 5

Reviewed by IANS

* Poor

** Average

*** Good

**** Very good

***** Excellent

]]>http://www.bollywoodlife.com/south-gossip/aambala-movie-review-vishal-hansikas-film-fails-to-impress/feed/0Vishal Krishna completes a decade in Kollywood!http://www.bollywoodlife.com/south-gossip/vishal-krishna-completes-a-decade-in-kollywood/
http://www.bollywoodlife.com/south-gossip/vishal-krishna-completes-a-decade-in-kollywood/#respondWed, 10 Sep 2014 14:28:27 +0000http://www.bollywoodlife.com/?p=395742The south actor is currently busy with his Tamil actioner Poojai

Southern actor Vishal Krishna Reddy, who is currently busy shooting for Tamil actioner Poojai, completed a decade in the industry Wednesday. He said his journey so far has been “great”.

“Sep 10th 2004 Chellamay released. It’s been 10 yrs. It’s been a great journey. I thank one and all who were a part of it and for who I am 2day (sic),” Vishal posted on his Twitter page.

Since his debut, Vishal has evolved as one of the most successful southern actors with hits such as Sandakozhi, Thimiru and Pandiya Naadu to his credit.

He recently turned producer and floated Vishal Film Factory, under which he has produced films such as Pandiya Naadu, Naan Sigappu Manithan and Poojai.

]]>http://www.bollywoodlife.com/south-gossip/vishal-krishna-completes-a-decade-in-kollywood/feed/0Why has Samar’s release been postponed to Pongal?http://www.bollywoodlife.com/south-gossip/why-has-samars-release-been-postponed-to-pongal/
http://www.bollywoodlife.com/south-gossip/why-has-samars-release-been-postponed-to-pongal/#respondWed, 26 Dec 2012 09:40:52 +0000http://www.bollywoodlife.com/?p=173969Actor Vishal was expected to make a strong comeback with Tamil film Samar on December 28, but the release has been postponed to Pongal (January 14)

Theeradha Vilayattu Pillai director Thiru Krishnamoorthy’s much awaited new film Samar, starring Vishal Krishna Reddy, Trisha Krishnan and Sunaina, has been postponed to Pongal next year (January 14, 2013). According to sources, the movie, which was scheduled to release on December 28, has been delayed due to unavoidable technical reasons.

Thiru also tweeted on his microblogging site saying, “Samar will not be releasing on 28th December, pushed the release for better date.” And insiders close to the unit assured that the film would sure hit the screens on Pongal day. “There will not be any further delay,” they added.

Samar has music by Yuvan Shankar Raja, and the movie will see Vishal pair up with Trisha for the first time on screen.

]]>http://www.bollywoodlife.com/south-gossip/why-has-samars-release-been-postponed-to-pongal/feed/0Vishal ropes in Trisha for next flick, ‘Samaran’http://www.bollywoodlife.com/south-gossip/vishal-ropes-in-trisha-for-next-flick-samaran/
http://www.bollywoodlife.com/south-gossip/vishal-ropes-in-trisha-for-next-flick-samaran/#respondWed, 05 Oct 2011 11:04:49 +0000http://www.bollywoodlife.com/?p=44012Vishal Krishna Reddy, the Tamil star whose recent release, Vedi faired well at the box office is ready to go on floors with his next film Samaran

Thiru Krishnamoorthy, who made his debut with Theeradha Vilayattu Pillai, which also had Vishal in the lead, will direct Samaran. “Vishal is a good friend of Thiru and the actor was thoroughly impressed with the storyline. He immediately decided to act in it, besides producing it on his home banner, G K Film Corporation,” says a source close to Vishal. Buoyed by the positive feedback for Vedi, Vishal has also managed to rope in Trisha to play his female lead. “It was my longtime wish to share the screen space with Trisha, who is also my good friend,” says Vishal. Samaran is reportedly an action adventure, on the lines of Vedi. After Bala’s Avan Ivan, Vishal is seriously looking to reposition himself as an action hero. This is the reason why the actor opted to do films like Vedi and Samaran.